Bread survey

New research carried out by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) has revealed large differences in salt levels between wrapped breads on sale in the UK . Bread is the biggest source of salt in the UK diet, contributing between one fifth and one quarter of our average intake. In the survey, the highest salt breads contained two and a half times as much salt as the lowest salt products.

CASH looked at 138 loaves of wrapped bread - branded and own-label - for sale in UK supermarkets and compared the salt content as declared on the label. 50 of the loaves surveyed - 36% - contained more than the FSA's target salt level for bread, 1.1g salt per 100g. The lowest salt bread found was Burgen's Wholegrain and Cranberry (0.55g salt per 100g), closely followed by Marks and Spencer's Seeded White (0.6g salt per 100g). The highest place was shared by two products, which both contained 1.5g salt per 100g: Asda's Medium White Big Loaf and Morrison's The Best Farmhouse Malted Bread.